Farming is, no doubt, a very lucrative business and becoming well known around the globe. Lots of people, both old and young, are now delving and swerving the steering of income in farming directions.
Farming as we all know has different sectors and every sector is very relevant in the economy building as they are interwoven in terms of their operation. Talk of crop production; it is a source of animal feed. Also, the wastes of these animals are used for fertilizer to increase the yield. This is a zero farming techniques where there is maximum utilization of resources.
Imagine a farmer, who is into crop and animal production, on a large expanse of land. Where his farm animals, herds of cattle, are used as “draft animals” (animals that are used to work on farm like ploughing etc.). He or she has drastically reduced cost of production because of this cheap labour also the droppings of the animal will serve as fertilizer that increase the productivity of the crops to be planted. Alternatively, he has mechanical implements like tractor and the likes to aid his production; he will still need the waste of these animals as fertilizer. This is called integrated farming, where all resources are maximized to the fullest.
The system is indeed a very lucrative one and this is what most successful farmers implement. But, one other aspect a farmer must give preference is record keeping. A farmer must be a record keeper because records are indicators of success in every business; it will show the state of the business. Recording keeping has countless benefits and it is necessary a clever farmer embrace the habit of record keeping. I will elucidate some records and how relevant they are in the success of the farming business.
1. Farm Dairy:
Farm diary is the record that houses the daily activities of a farm and the farmer. This record is very important as it serves as a reference book to obtain past information on the farm. Examples in poultry farming, where a farmer needs to vaccinate his birds or give the birds so medications at a particular period. It is very normal for humans to forget things easily, once this farmer has a diary to input the date and time for the operation. He will carry this out and it will prevent future outbreak of any potential threat or menace on his farm.
However, it is not a dairy if it is note used daily. It has to serve the purpose it is intended for. As a farmer, it is imperative you keep records of what happens in your farm daily. This will enhance
the progress of the farm.
2. The cash book and payment receipt:
This is one of the cogent records a good farmer should take note, cash book and payment receipt is a record of all financial transactions, both the income and expenditure, of the farm. With it, a farmer can access loans, detect fraudulent practices and know the state of the business.
In addition, a farmer can make productive decision based on the figures present in the record.
3. Annual valuation record:
It is imperative that at the end of each production year, a farmer should evaluate his or her venture to know the current state of the business. The farm strength and weakness have to be determined; this is only possible when the farmer has the annual valuation record. This record shows the value of stocks present on the farm from the beginning of the year to the end.
It will aid decision making for the next production year.
4. Farm inventory:
This is the record that shows the lists of all the items present on the farm at a particular time, examples are farm equipment, farm building, farm plots, furniture, etc.
It shows all the equipment and their value also the current state of the equipment, the record is usually taken at the beginning and end of the production year.
A good inventory record can assist farmers to get bank loan.
5. Yield and production record:
This is one of the essential records to be kept in a farm, it is the record that shows the yield or output of the farm. Both is animal and crop production, the daily or seasonal production rate is recorded in the record. It contains the numbers of eggs laid per day or the sizes of litter after farrow or the tonnes of crop harvested per season.
It shows the success rate of the farm during the production year.
6. Payroll and labour record:
This is another cogent record, it shows the amount and types of labour hired or employed to work on the farm. Also present in this record is the rate and wages paid, this record enhances transparency on the farm.
7. Farm input utilization record:
This record shows all the input acquired and utilized during the production year, it shows the relevance of a particular input in the production. It shows the level of input application and it is also used in combination with output record to determine resources productivity.
8. Profit and loss record:
This is the principal record; it shows the economic level of the business. This record is the only record most farmers tends to keep, however, the aforementioned records are prerequisite to this record.
This record is normally prepared at the end of every production period, usually at the end of the year to determine whether the business is making profit or otherwise.
These are the records an aspiring successful farmer must prepare and keep; it has several benefits such as:
- Procurement of bank loan.
- Aids productive decision making.
- Help to detect fraudulent practices.
- It helps to know the economic status of the farm.
- It shows the strength and weakness of a farm
I implore every farmer to take note of these records.
No comments:
Post a Comment